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“Rural women want to have the freedom to choose a life that they value”. wrote Rebeca Grynspan, United Nation’s Development Programme (UNDP) Deputy Chief during her Facebook chat on International Women’s Day. At UNDP’s office in New York, Ms. Grynspan replied to live questions coming in from around the world to highlight the central role rural women have in development. “They want what we want - a life with dignity, enough revenue to cover their basic needs, education and health for their children, etc.”, she wrote. During the chat, Facebook users suggested volunteering to support rural women and give them better access to education and health care.

Survivors of sex- and gender-based violence in Sierra Leone are having their day in court, as the judiciary now sits on Saturdays in a critical first step towards clearing an estimated 700-case backlog.

The Administrator of UNDP, Helen Clark, and the Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Michel Sidibé, began a three day mission in New Zealand—the first joint mission by the two UN leaders in this Pacific country.

With women underrepresented in high level politics and decision-making the world over, a new Guidebook produced by the UNDP and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) is showing political parties how they can begin to redress this imbalance by supporting women’s participation in the electoral process.

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge on Saturday contributed USD 50,000 towards a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)-supported initiative that engages Zambian youth in sports activities while promoting conservation of the environment.

Washington—The world has changed tremendously in recent years, paving the way for new partnerships in development and a new role for the private sector, UNDP Assistant Administrator Sigrid Kaag said here Friday.

On the last day of her visit to Niger, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark traveled to the ancient city of Agadez where armed rebellions in the 1990s led to a period marked by violence and instability, resulting in increased poverty and vulnerability for the population.

When a powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit the Aceh province in the northern tip of Indonesia on 10 January there was no damage or casualty—a very different situation compared to seven years earlier.

International organizations are playing a key role in rebuilding Haiti two years after a devastating earthquake, but long-term success requires ownership by citizens of the Caribbean island nation, UN Development Program (UNDP) Associate Administrator Rebeca Grynspan said.

A joint BBC-United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) multimedia campaign kicked off last week to encourage young Cambodians aged 15-24 to get involved in community-level volunteerism, voice their opinions to public officials and engage in decision-making.